8 year-old boy dead, over 250 left homeless; cause of fire under investigation

(Long Island, NY) An apartment building in Hempstead suffered a fire that quickly escalated out of control and required the combined efforts of several fire districts to quell over the weekend, leaving one dead, several injured, and multiple without a place to live.

Frantic 911 calls were made from the apartment building, located on St. Paul Road North, after a fire was reported to have broken out in a third-floor apartment at approximately 6:22 a.m., according to Nassau County Police.

The blaze quickly spread, requiring response from multiple fire departments; among them were Hempstead, West Hempstead, Baldwin, Uniondale, Mineola, North Bellmore, North Merrick, East Meadow, Lawrence/Cedarhurst, South Hempstead, Roosevelt, Franklin Square, and Elmont, comprising a total of over 300 firefighters in all.

In the end, the fire tragically left an 8 year-old boy dead, 10 injured, and about 250 people homeless, according to officials.

Among the injuries, one victim is currently being hospitalized and listed as being in critical condition. The remaining nine victims were treated for treated for non-life threatening injuries and released from local area hospitals, according to authorities.

The name of the boy who died is being withheld by police until next of kin can be properly notified, police said.

The Nassau County Fire Marshall, in conjunction with Nassau Arson and Bomb Squad Unit detectives, have conducted a preliminary investigation and have ruled out foul play as the cause of the fire, stating that the cause is “not suspicious.”

However, the exact cause of the blaze is as of yet unknown and the investigation is continuing, according to police and fire officials.